Butterfly Flutters Toward Safety

January 4, 2002|By David Fleshler Staff Writer

A rare South Florida butterfly has moved a step closer to protection under the Endangered Species Act, a measure that could defend it from the twin threats of anti-mosquito sprays and fanatical butterfly collectors.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday that protection of the Miami blue may be warranted. The formal finding starts a review and comment period that will probably last through summer.

Once flying as far north as Gainesville, the Miami blue was thought to be extinct several years ago. Among the culprits: cities that paved over its habitat, non-native plants that crowded out the vegetation on which it depended, and mosquito spraying.

But about two years ago, a pair of butterfly enthusiasts photographed a colony of them in Bahia Honda State Park near Marathon. Another reliable sighting was reported in Key Largo.

Anxious to prevent the Miami blue from being wiped out, the North American Butterfly Association filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the butterfly as an endangered species.

The immediate fear was poaching by the small group of butterfly collectors who were desperate to add rare species to their collections. While butterfly collecting has fallen out of fashion because of the efforts of conservation groups, some collectors still prowl the woods and meadows.

"Most of them are not evil people," said Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association. "But among them are some truly sick individuals. There are collectors who want to capture the last of a species on earth. It would only take one of them to kill every one they can find."

In the mid-1990s, federal investigators broke up a butterfly poaching ring whose members operated throughout the United States, including Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and Everglades National Park. Until they were arrested, they traded thousands of endangered butterflies through the mail.

Putting the Miami blue on the Endangered Species List would subject anyone who snatched one to stiff penalties. Under the butterfly's current status, anyone who took one would be guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor, which would mean a maximum fine of $500.

But if it were listed under the Endangered Species Act, anyone taking one would face felony charges carrying fines of up to $100,000 and imprisonment of up to one year. And the penalties could be levied per individual insect, so a person who took five butterflies could face $500,000 in fines and five years in prison.

"Listing them would at least make people stop and think," Glassberg said. "Most people don't want to get involved in breaking the federal Endangered Species Act. There's no teeth in the penalties now."

Also putting the butterflies at risk are anti-mosquito programs. Monroe County uses airplanes and trucks to spray insecticides into mosquito breeding grounds. Dave Martin, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said mosquito spraying in the Keys had harmed the Schaus swallowtail butterfly, which is listed as an endangered species.

But Ed Fussell, director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, said he anticipates no conflicts if a new endangered butterfly is listed in the Keys. His agency concentrates on spraying mosquito larvae, a process that uses sprays that wouldn't harm butterflies. And even when spraying for adults, his crews use the minimum amount possible to avoid harming anything but mosquitoes, he said.

"We try to be as friendly toward the environment as we can," he said.

The butterfly was among 29 plants and animals put on a fast track for consideration under the Endangered Species Act. It is part of a deal to settle lawsuits from environmental groups over a backlog of endangered species applications.

But Martin, of the Fish and Wildlife Service, cautioned that it's far from guaranteed that the butterfly will make it onto the list.

One immediate obstacle is funding for the studies to determine its status. Many other projects are competing for a limited amount of money, he said.

David Fleshler can be reached at dfleshler@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4535.